Trailing weft-end-clearer device for looms



May 20 1924; 1,495,142

J. A. SWAINBANK TRAILING WEFT END CLEARER DEVICE FOR LOOMS Filed July19. 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet. l

ii I

VIII/11111171;

[22 venzar:

J. A. SWAINBANK TRAILING WEFT END CLEARER DEVICE FOR LOOMS May 20 1924.1,495,142

Filed July 19. 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 fn/veniw':

Patented May 20, 1924.

UNITED STATES:

PATENT OFFICE.

TRAILING WEFT-END-CLEARER DEVICE FOR LOOMS.

Application filed July 19, 1923. Serial No. 652,535.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMns ALLEN SWAIN- BANK, a subject of Great Britain,residing at Welland, in the Province of Ontario, Do minion of Canada,have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in TrailingVeft-End-Clearer Devices for Looms, of which the following is aspecification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

The invention is applicable to automatic looms employing filling-feelersand of the type wherein the working supply of weft or filling isreplenished by automatically inserting a fresh filling-carrier into theworking shuttle and' simultaneously ejecting from the shuttle the oldfilling-carrier from which the supply of weft or filling has beensubstantially exhausted. When the old fillingcarrier is driven outthrough the bottom of the shuttle in the replenishing operation, withmore or less residue of wound filling still remaining upon thefilling-carrier, as is the case in looms in which the replenishinginstrumentalities are controlled by filling-feelers, the yarn from thiscarrier still remains engaged in the eye of the shuttle, so thatfrequently the old weft-end is held by the shuttle-eye and carried intothe warpshed, to produce a fault in the fabric known as a double pick,or else fouls the new weft-end and causes breakage thereof. This failureof the old weft-end to clear itself from' the shuttle-eye is regarded byusers of bobbin-changing automatic looms as one of the greatestdrawbacks of the looms aforesaid, inasmuch as when the shuttle-eyebecomes clogged with lint in the least, or

the shuttle becomes worn on the side thereof so that the groove thereonis shallow, or even when everything is ideal, there is always liabilityof the old weft-end being dragged into the shed.

arious devices have been proposed for the purpose of preventing the oldor trailing weft-end from being carried into the shed as aforesaid, butnone of such devices, as far as I am aware, is in general use inpractice at the present time.

The invention consists in a weft-end clearer device of novel andimproved construction having as a characteristic feature a yarn-engagingmember which occupies a stationary forward retracted position while thelay is rearward, and is given bythe.

lay in the latters advancing movement a position at the rear of the pathin which the ejected filling-carrier falls from the shuttle, so that asthe: lay moves rearward and the said member moves forward. an old ortrailing weft-end extending upward from the ejected'bob-bin in thecatcher-box to the shuttle-eye will be engaged by such member, therebyproviding for clearing the weftend from the shuttle-eye, andsafeguarding against such end being carriedinto the shed by the shuttle.

A second feature of the invention is a coacting member with which themember first mentioned cooperates in its retracted position to clampthefweft-end and thereby more effectually guard against such end beingcarried into the shed.

The drawings show an illustrative embodiment of my invention combinedwith parts of a bobbin-changing loom. The general construction of theordinary types of automatic looms is so well-known and familiar to thoseskilled in the art that only a frag: mentary-showing and'a very generaldescriptibn of the parts associated with the operation of my device isdeemed necessary.

In the drawings,

Fig. l is a partly sectional view of portions of a bobbin-changing loom,showing an embodiment of my invention applied thereto.

Fig. 2 is a somewhat similar View, on an The lay-beam is shown at 1, and2 (Figs.

1 and 2) is the breast-beam, upon which is mounted the magazine 3holding the fresh bobbins or filling-carriers 4, 4, in readiness to bedriven down, each in turn, into the shuttle 5 within the shuttle-box 6011 the lay-beam 1, when the depletion-indicating devices of the loomdetect the predeter mined extent of exhaustion of the working supply offilling on the bobbin in the shuttle. In usual practice, the change ofbobfront elevation of certain of the stud 1 1 can tip slightly in thesaid slotfor this purpose, or rise against the resistance of spring 15.

In the full-line position occupied by the clearer device 13 in Fig. i,it serves as a means of preventing an ejected bobbin from getting intothe slot 31 in which the pickerstick works inward and outward, andthereby safeguards against breakage of bobbins, and against banging-offof the loom as a result of a bobbin getting into the siot.

If the filling-feeler devices are removed or rendered inoperative andthe action of the bobbin-changing mechanism is controlled by theweft-fork mechanism instead, the arm 13 may be utilized solely as ameans of preventing bobbin smashes, by adjusting collar 16 t relaxspring 15 so that the latter has no tendency to swing the arm 13, andthen tightening collar 16 up hard against spring 15, to hold theclearing arm 13 continuously in its rearward position shown in fulllines in Fig. 1.

What I claim as my invention is,

1. lVeft-clearer devices comprising a stationary support, a weft-clearermovably mounted on said support, occupying a retracted forward positionwhile the lay is rearward. and actuated by the advancing lay into aposition rearward of the path in which the ejected filling-carrier fallsfrom the shuttle.

2. The combination with a stationary support of a weft-clearer movablymounted in connection therewith, occupying a retracted forward positionwhile the lay is rearward and actuated by the advancing lay into aposition rearward of the path in which the ejected filling-carrier fallsfrom the shuttle, and means actuating said weft-clearer to engage thetrailing weft-end from said filling-carrier as the lay recedes.

3. A weft-clearer for looms comprising a stationary supporting member, aswinging member pivoted thereto adapted to be swung rearwardly by theaction of the advancing law-beam into a position rearward of the p: h ofthe cescendin'g ejected filling-can rier. and means causing saidswinging memher to swing forwardly as the lay recedes.

e. A weft-clearer for looms comprising a stationary supporting member, alever pivoted upon said member having an arm adapted to be struck by theadvancing laybeam to swing the weft-end engaging arm thereof to the rearof the path in which the ejected filling-carrier falls, and means forswinging the lever to carry the said weftond. engaging arm forwardly asthe lay recedes.

5. A weft-clearer for looms comprising a rearwardly extending stationarysupporting member, a swinging arm pivoted to the said supporting memberfor horizontal swinging movement and having a tail adapted to be struckby the advancing lay-beam to swing thearm rearwardly into position forengagement'with a trailing weft-end,

and a spring serving to swing the swinging arm forwardly as the layrecedes, to en'- gagethe trailing weft-end from said ejectedfilling-carrier, and also serving to press the swinging arm against thesupporting member to clamp said weft-end.

6. A weft-clearer for looms comprising, in combination with thetransferrer stud, a supporting arm 'mounted on the transferrer stud, arearwardly extending arm on said supporting arm adjustably combinedtherewith, a swinging arm pivoted on said rearwardly extending arm andadapted to be swung rearwardly through contact with the advancing layinto position for engagement with a trailing weft-end, and a spring atthe pivotal point to swing the swinging arm forward as the lay recedesso as to engage and carry forward the trailing weft-end, and also topress the swinging arm flatwise against the rearwardly extending arm soas to'clainp the said weft-end between the swinging arm and therearwardly extending arm.

7. A. weft-end clearer for looms comprising a stationary support, an armpivotally combined with said support and adapted to be swung in onedirection by contact with the lay-beam into position for engagement witha trailing weft-end and a spring operating to swing said arm reverselyand to cause it to overlap the other arm so as to clamp the saidweft-end between the adjoining surfaces of said arms.

8. A weft-end clearer for looms according to claim. 7 in which one ofthe pivotally combined members has an oversized hole for the pivot-pin,to admit of divergence of the two members from a parallel relation, toprovide for an accumulation of weft-ends between the adjoining surfaces.

9. Trailing weft-end clearer devices comprising a stationary support, aweft-clearer movably mounted on said support, occupying a retractedforward position while the lay is rearward, and actuated by theadvancing lay to move its engaging portion into a rearward positionadapting such portion to engage a trailing weft-end as the clearerreturns forward to its normal position. I

10. Trailing weft-end clearer devices comprising a stationary support, aweft-clearer movably mounted on. said support, occupying a retractedforward position while the lay is rearward, and actuated by theadvancing lay to move its engaging portion into a rearward positionadapting such portion to ing Weft-end as the'olearer returns to itsnormal position.

clearer devices normal position, 7 adapted to clamp the thus-engagedtrailing 12. Trailing Weft-end clearer devices comprising astationarysupport, a Weftclearer arm mounted pivotally in connection with saidsupport, occupying a retracted forward position while the lay isrearward, and actuated by the advanoing'lay to move its engaging portioninto a rearward position adapting; such portion to engage a trailingWeft-end as the clearer returns to its said Weft-clearer arm Weft-end.

' JAMES ALLEN SWAINBANK.

